A bright wideband radio burst from the isolated neutron star 2XMM J104608.7−594306

Journal article

We present the discovery of a second coherent radio burst from the thermally emitting neutron star 2XMM J104608.7–594306 in our follow-up observations with the Murriyang Ultra-Wideband Low receiver. This burst shows complex morphology with multiple components and wideband emission spanning from 704 to 4032 MHz. We measured a steep spectral index of . Our polarimetric analysis demonstrates that the burst is highly polarized with a linear and circular polarization fraction of 54 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively. We identified an orthogonal jump in the polarization position angles of the burst, resembling those seen in radio pulsars. We compared this burst with the first radio burst detected from the source with MeerKAT. These two bursts detected in a total of 40 h on source with MeerKAT and Murriyang, combined, show that 2XMM J104608.7–594306 can emit sporadic radio emission with luminosity jumps comparable to those seen in the bright bursts from SGR 1935+2154. This suggests that previously thought radio-quiet neutron stars such as X-ray dim isolated neutron stars and central compact objects could exhibit rare radio bursting activity.

Authors: Tian, J; Rajwade, KM; Pastor-Marazuela, I; Stappers, BW; Caleb, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Volume: 549
• Issue: 1
• Article number: stag842
• Publication date: 2026-05-04
• Acceptance date: 2026-05-01
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag842
• EISSN: 1365-2966
• ISSN: 0035-8711
• Language: English
• Keywords: stars: neutron; radio continuum: transients; pulsars: general